Novak Djokovic faces the daunting challenge of trying to get Serbia back into their World Group semi-final with Argentina.
Exhausted by his US Open final victory on Monday, Djokovic arrived in Belgrade just 24 hours before the start of the tie and felt in no fit state to take to the court against David Nalbandian on day one. Unfortunately his countrymen were missing him badly as Argentina wrapped up both singles rubbers to take a 2-0 lead.
Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic are supposed to be the pairing fo Saturday's doubles but Serbia will almost certainly bring in Djokovic for this must-win match while Argentina have the luxury of being able to rest both Nalbandian and Juan Martin Del Potro ahead of the final day.
Serbia will have to hope Djokovic can win both this match and Sunday's reverse singles clash with Del Potro, setting up a decisive clash between Tipsarevc and Nalbandian.
The first task looks set to be the most straightforward one. Djokovic and Nenad Zimonjic do not have a great recent record together, having won just two of their past six rubbers together. They were well beaten by the Swedish pair in the quarters and by the French pair in last year's final. However the good news for them is that Juan Ignacio Chela and Juan Monaco are a scratch pairing with very little doubles pedigree and most oft their losses have come against experienced teams who compete regularly on the tour.
